A Fool for a Stringed Instrument

He Who Must Be Obeyed lured me to lunch this noon. We went to a nice midtown place where he ordered a salad and I ordered a hamburger deluxe. When we got our meals, he eyed both of them and announced that he was swapping with me. "Oh good," I told him, "you just order whatever and I do the same and when we get them we trade plates, that always makes for an unexpected surprise." Whatever.

The area was having their yearly neighborhood garage sale and I have done it again. HWMBO distained the area. and the neighborhood, and wouldn't even get out of his Wrangler until I walked back and told him I wanted him to look at the yellow label inside a violin, out baking in the sun, on a table. This is such a stupid thing to even think about; but it does sort of take a person's breath away.

Inside the old, old case lay this, one string short, chin rest off, otherwise in pretty good shape, violin. Peering through the sound hole into the instrument was a yellow label that said "Antonius Stradiuarius Cremonensis, Fasieabat Anno 1734." Being Italian, somewhere along the line the u was changed to a v, or the other way around, maybe. It was $50, but I have paid more than that for a rock, so what the hay, I say. It is much prettier than most of my rocks. The mother-in-law who owned it will call me sometime, as I want to know everything she knows about it. "It was in her house for at least 20 years," said the nice woman collecting the money.

Ever since, I have been on an Internet search and found that the fakes are out there by the thousands, I suppose. But here is the deal. In 1734, Stadavarius made 12 violins and one viola. I have no idea if it is simply a label that some luthier slapped on a hastily built violin or what it is. He lived to 1737 and had a couple of sons that made violins.

I am going to take it downtown to Nelson's Violin Shop and have the string put on, perhaps have the bow rehaired and ask that excellent craftsman what he thinks. I know that rehairing the bow will cost a bunch. I paid $125 or so to have my cello bow rehaired a few years ago there. There is an interesting label inside the cello as well but I am not going to even think about it.

There was a time that I had four kids, at home, practicing violins, a cello and a string bass. That is what I mean about being a fool for a stringed instrument. Back then I bought three violins from a nun who had taught in Chicago. Once the neighbor across the driveway from us, on an open window night, yelled out for our bass player to "Stop that and go to bed!" None of us has forgotten that.